Fans try to get in bars via Tootlsie's Alley behind the Ryman as Alan Jackson made a surprise appearance at The Stage on Broadway Wednesday June 4, 2014, in Nashville, TN. Larry McCormack / THE TENNESSEAN

Alan Jackson's night didn't end with receiving the Impact Award at the CMT Music Awards Wednesday night — he hopped across the street and played a surprise show at The Stage on Broadway.

Fans were tightly wedged onto the lower level of the bar as they waited for Jackson to take the stage. They cheered and pulled out their cell phones and started snapping pictures as he entered through the front door and climbed on stage.

Jackson kicked the show off with "Gone Country" and transitioned right into "Good Time" as the audience that included his wife, Denise, and fellow country singers including Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack and Eric Paslay danced and sang along.

After the first couple of songs, Jackson took a moment to apologize for starting the show later than planned. He said a woman had suffered a heart attack at the door of the bar and they needed to wait on an ambulance to make sure she was OK.

Not that the crowd minded the wait.

"Y'all are packed in here," he told them. "It's nice. We're going to be cutting loose a little bit, playing some songs for you all."

And he did – and so did his friends.

Jackson played hits — or at least parts of them — including "Pop a Top," "Wanted," and "Little Bitty" on his own and invited Musgraves and Womack on stage to sing with him.

It took a team of people to safely move Musgraves from her spot on the balcony, through the crowd and onto the stage. When she got up there, she and Jackson sang his hit "Livin' on Love."

Womack came up next and the pair dueted on the George Jones/Tammy Wynette classic "Golden Ring." It was a performance that left members of the audience spellbound and others loudly begging for more.

The honor at the CMT Music Awards and late-night performance on Broadway set the stage for an early Thursday morning press conference at The Country Music Hall of Fame. The news hasn't been announced yet, but if Wednesday night is any indication, 25 years into his highly successful career, Jackson may just be gearing up for the next 25.